black. we have to recognise that there's a disparity and a problem. >> you can catch my full interview with forest whitaker in the coming weeks. tomorrow on "consider this", former c.i.a. director james wol si. that's all. the conversation conditions on the website aljazeera.com/considerthis. we are on facebook and twitter at aj consider this and tweet me at amora tv. see you next time. ^ below psh psh hi everyone, this is al jazeera america, i'm john seigenthaler in new york. tonight - what you need to know about khorasan. only the beginning, why the u.s. he was led campaign in the middle east could last years. ebola - a grim warning about

the outbreak, death tolls established but officials fear it could sky rocket. >> america votes - 2014, the midterm elections, issues that matter and how crisis around the world could affect who gets elected here at home. . >> this is day 2 of the u.s.-led air strikes in syria, and comes as a group that could provide a greater threat than i.s.i.l. is known as khorasan, made up of former i.s.i.l., and was part of a planned attack. we have more. >> this group, according to the intelligence community was close to executing attacks. homeland security and the fbi

issued a bulletin to state, level and local law enforcement giving them the latest intelligence information on the al qaeda-linked group and indicating that security measures will be adjusted as appropriate. >> the first wave of strikes in syria targeted not just i.s.i.l., but an organisation that few americans have heard of. administration officials say the group, which set up shop near aleppo posed an idea threat to europe and the united states. >> in terms of the khorasan, a network of seasoned al qaeda veterans, these were undertaken to disrupt imminent attack plotting. >> the head of the group is long-time leader muhsin shz ag-fadhli and has been on the radar for a decade.

those with western passports - plans to use the fighters to get on the air planes with concealed bombs. . >> three months ago u.s. officials heard rum lings about the fact that they were in a testing phase of the process, and moving into the next phase, which was the execution phase. it's a very potent group. this group is in extreme danger, and i understand why these air strikes had to take place sooner than later. >> they have not participated in the streaks against the group, but took part in the strikes against i.s.i.l. the president and secretary of state john kerry long said that they would not go it alone. today the president welcomed the members of the coalition to the u.n. >> i say thank you to all of them. for patience and commitment to rolling back the violent

extremism. >> you have the extraordinary situation here where four arab countries with a high sunni-islam majority, plus bahrain have joined forces with the people often denounced as crusaders and imperialists to fight sunni muslims. >> senior administration officials say the coalition gelled in just the last few days. >> one country noticeably absent was turkey, but the president from turkey is saying that the country is looking at expanding the support for the coalition, and that could include military involvement. >> lisa stark in washington. mama is colleging to keep up the fight against i.s.i.l. in iraq and syria. white house correspondent mike viqueira has the details. >> reporter: it was two weeks after president obama said it would happen, and another week since he signed off on the plan.

on the day after, it came as dramatic news. >> last night on my orders america's armed forces began strikes against i.s.i.l. target in syria. >> the first waves came in the early morning tart. areas around aleppo and raqqa were targeted. the tarts training camps and workshops. and waves of air crafts and f22s - hitting barracks and combat vehicles. military officials expressed the nature of the strikes. >> the intended target was the communications array on the roof of the building. the toma hawks detonated with air bursts, focussing on communication array. >> reporter: the last two arrays, an unspecified number of sortees flown by neighbouring

arab says. the involvement was a key to going forward with strikes in syria. president obama called out the country by name. >> saudi arabia, the united arab imirates, jordan, bahrain and qatar. america is proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with the nations on behalf of common security. >> they are assessing the damage, they were called a success but that the strike was obvious. >> we will not allow geography or borders to prevent us to take it against i.s.i.l. >> one things that officials are stressing and a point of controversy in the aftermath - did the united states notify the bashar al-assad regime that the strikes would go forward op what is nominally their territory, although it's controlled by i.s.i.l. the state department said there's no coordination, we didn't give them advance notice, just told them to get out of the

way. >> that's the beginning. that is what they are stressing. the president cop veeped a meeting with arab nations that are part of the coalition. one thing that the officials wanted to stress is that everyone here is in this for the long hall. you'll see the president in new york. sorry, tomorrow. the reason he's in new york tomorrow and the next day is to address united nations security council, he'll convene a meeting as a head of state tomorrow afternoon in new york, of the security council, to talk about the threat and the issue of foreign fighters. >> it changed the focus of the meeting, having the enhappen this week. mike viqueira, thank you very much. >> now, imran khan join us from baghdad. >> what do we know about what impact the air strikes are having? >> it's too early to tell the real impact that the air strikes had in syria and iraq.

they decided that they are going to display a show of distrength. 24 hours ago in the town of fallujah, i.s.i.l. captured about 30, raiding them in the streets of fallujah, this is a display of strength. immediately after. they might be able to get us in syria. we have not gone yet. that is a message that they have sent out. the iraqis looking for - looking to see what the next move by the u.s. would be. there are a number of u.s. advisors, about 1600 of them at the moment advising u.s. troops. i don't know if you can hear that. there's shelling going on in the background here, operations against i.s.i.l. continuing. it's far from here, nowhere near here, but on the borders in the west of the country. still operations mounting

against i.s.i.l. fighters. it's too early to awhether it's a decisive impact. it's had an impact politically and in terms of moral. iraq said it needed air strikes to deal with i.s.i.l. >> give us a sense, you talked about the shelling going on a distance i way. weeks ago we heard that i.s.i.l. was moving towards baghdad. how away are i.s.i.l. troops from baghdad now. >> well, that depends on which way you look at it. i.s.i.l. could be about 100km away from baghdad. it's a world away in terms of them being able to get near the city. geographically it may be close. in between anbar province and baghdad the airport is heavily fortified - sorry, i'm being

attacked by mosquitos here - heavily fortified troops and military equipment, so it's quite far away. what the key for i.s.i.l. is is not so much getting into baghdad. one of the keys is basically disrupting the supply lines between baghdad and the north. they have done it successfully. the american air strikes are to free up the lines. getting the troops where they need them the most, to take the second biggest city back. >> imran khan in baghdad. mark lyons retired army major and a senior fellow at the truman foundation. let's talk about the air strike. what was the mission. >> command and control centers, logistics operations and command

facilities to spirit and make sure that they could destroy all. >> we heard from imran khan in fallujah, marching around defying the united states. >> we talked to the germ and he said we are disrupted them. we would wake up and you have three separate terrorist organizations that have been struck. snoop how will i.s.i.l. fight back. >> they will probably fight back in a smaller way, perhaps we'll see unfortunate beheading. they don't have a chance to strike back. >> you mentioned air strikes, do you think we'll see boots on the ground in the future or not. >> i think the air strikes into syria are designed to separate the military organizations, allow the iraqi security forces the time and space to get up to

speed and drive them out. i don't believe you'll sear ab nations, it will we troops on the ground. >> the u.s. had the element of surprise. how do tactics change. >> they'll change. >> i.s.i.s. is a learning organization. they'll do things differently. there are things they boept we. they have -- won't be. they have taken so much iraqi equipment. they will not be able to hide tanks or artillery pieces or a.p. cs that they take over. >> what will they do with it. >> they will be targets. as the strategic targets illustrated. they'll go after those weapons. >> the most disturbing information is the khorasan group, what are they, why did the u.s. move quickly. >> hard core jihadist, al qaeda

backing, focused down on taking down american airliners. the infell we have got with regard to their locations, where did it come from? rebels on the ground, israel, where did we know to hit them. we hit a command center and a bomb making facility. >> we have five arab nations participate, minus turkey and egypt. we know that turkey would probably not participate. why not egypt. >> they have internal issues on the sideline with muslim brotherhood. politically changing situation for the arab nations to attack inside another arab country. it's a significant accomplishment of this administration to do what they have done in getting the coalition toot. as it's more successful, egypt will join. president obama says he'll seek more support from his - for his i.s.i.l. strategy during the

united nations general assembly. five regional allies will help them. >> hours after the airstrikes in syria, president obama met with leaders from five arab countries that took part in the joint mission. >> friends, partners from the region, and to say thank you to all of them for their participation and commitment to rolling back the violent extremism that disrupted the area and syria and threatens the region as a whole. secretary of state john kerry talked about his country's first military action on syria soil. there'd been questions about the commitment to the u.s.-led coalition of one regional player in turkey. >> the challenge with respect to

its hostages, that being resolved. turkey is ready to conduct additional efforts, along with the rest of us to guarantee success. the focus of world leaders was to be solely on climate change, before the air strikes. there has been many questions about the legality of the action. when he spoke to supporters, u.n. secretary-general ban ki-moon chose his words carefully. >> in the case of syria, there can be no connection. if the groups are to act with impunity, and if the syrian government continues to commit gross human rights violation. the syrian ambassador for the u.n. told me he had been informed by sam jp they power in -- samantha power, and for

now they are not making a military objection. >> ambassador power wrote to the u.n. secretary-general stating article 51 stating that states have the right to self-defence. with u.s. hostages executed by i.s.i.l., it's the legal justification america claims for it mission. >> as the u.s. holds the presidency of the u.n. security council last week john kerry chaired a special session about i.s.i.l. on wednesday, another meeting, this time chaired by president obama himself. there's likely to be discussion about the legality of the air strikes and all will watch to see the position russia takes. al jazeera's correspondent is here with us. tonight there's a dinner with hassan rouhani tonight.

10-15 people. >> 15, yes. >> give me a sense of what the conversation was. >> i have been to the dinners before, in the battled mahmoud ahmadinejad days, and everywhere gets to talk. 10-15 opening statement, with the foreign minister and chief of staff. there's a lot of topics from israel, nuclear, syria, a lot of focus on i.s.i.l., and on the u.s.-rainion relationship. >> give us a sense of what the discussion is like, especially when it comes to syria. >> it's hard to do that. two things. one is what isn't discussed. >> very little criticism of the u.s. almost none. there was the issue of should the u.s. have gotten authorisation for the syrian strikes. he brought that up. that aside, he spoke positively about the u.s., a win-win solution, improving relations between the two countries. >> so the u.s. is praising the

cooperation of five arab nations who decided to get involved in and participate. who do you think the real players in this fight against i.s.i.l. >> i think that had some real players and is missing some important players. in terms of on the ground fighting, taking the guys on, iran is doing that. iran is working with the kurd, the iraqi army and engaged in battles on iraqi soil against i.s.i.l. so that's an important country and piece of this. i think saudi arabia is important. and i was surprised at the scale - it wasn't a huge attack, it was larger than i expected, rather than a targeted opportunity, involving all those people. it was important politically. the question for me on saudi arabia, because it's so important, is this a one-off affair or signal a change in saudi policy. they were the ones that have

sort of funded and provided weapons and - some of which is ended up in the hands of extremists. >> the other interesting thing was those nations participated in the syrian attacks, but not the khorasan attacks. why. >> that's a great session. i don't know the answer. i would like to have been a fly on the wall. >> it might have been political or logistical. khorasan locted and acquired weapons. they weren't making a meaningful contribution. i agree, it's curious. >> how do you prepare i.s.i.l. >> we talked about this, and i have been saying this for a while. after the beheading, a lot of people freaked out. i never thought that was the case. why. unlike al qaeda, there's no

record of after 3.5 years of them trying to win. it's not the objective. it's a local object ty to set up a cally fate there, unlike al qaeda. who has a track record. who has as a stated kneel, trying to attack the u.s. and other targets. khorasan is the al qaeda peace taking attacks outside of the region, where as al nusra was fighting in syria and iraq. they are trying to have limited territorial ambitions. >> complicated. jim walsh, thank you for last night and together. still ahead. chilling information about ebola, why doctors think it could affect more than a million people. and high price f22 buys combat

missions for the first time.

and the air strikes in syria - the u.s. using an expensive

plane, the raptor. >> simply put, there is nothing quite like the f22 raptor in technology or in price. let's talk about the money. the f22 is built by lockheed martin and boeing, and paid for by you with your tax money. one of the most expensive: according to some reports the costs was $678 million per plane. one of the planes it replaced, the f-16, cost a fraction of that. the f22s high price tag fuelled controversy about why the plane was built in the first place, and whether it would be needed. for the cost, you get a punch. >> the f22 is 62 feet long, a wing span of 44 feet and reach an altitude of 60 thouds feet.

a staltedz plane, and appears to be the size of a bumblebee. there's the speed, going fatter than 1.5 times the speed of sound. beyond 100,000 miles an hour. as for armament - consider the weaponry. six missiles, two heat-seeking missiles. a bar ol canon and bombs. lockheed says it can fire missiles while the many is rolling over rapidly. >> this strike was the f22s first combat outing. in an air to air combat scenario, it's stealthy and powerful. for the targets who experienced its wrath on the ground, an attack from the f22 would have come from nowhere. >> a remarkable fighter. it almost looks too sophisticated for a human to

handle. >> i had the opportunity to go to a simulator facility. that participated in this particular strike. it's basically a big video game in a center final that whirls you around, experiencing the high g turns of a combat aircraft. i asked the people that ran the center final, who wins. they run a simulation every year where the fighters from u.a.e. will dog fight with one another in a crazy video game. i said who wins. they said the bahrainies. the bahrainies have a perfect physical ability why to rest this. the f22 raptor would exceed that. we are reaching the situation where the pilots can withstand these forces.

the centers for disease control issued a warping about the ebola virus. a c.d.c. report says if efforts to combat ebola are not improved, there could be 1.4 million ebola cases in liberia. sierra leone, and the world health organisation says there could be 20,000 new cases by november. more than 2800 people are from ebola in west africa. we have more. >> doctor thomas freeland, head of the disease control and prevention in a telebriefing outlining the best and worst case scenario for the ebola spread. let me give you the positives. he said if the dead are buried safely and 70% are treated in isolation units, by january the spread could be almost over. now, let me give you the worst.

this is a significant number. by september, 21,000 people will likely be affected with ebola in west africa. and possibly the most staggering number of the day, 1.4 million infected by january. as a whole the united states is sending 3,000 plus troops to west africa. they are building huge tents and hope some of at least people can get into, and doctors and aid workers can stop the spread. c.d.c., u.n. all believe it is a key to stopping the ebola spread. getting the people with the infection into the isolation units. we'll have to see as it goes over the course of the next few weeks. they think if we get the situation under control, and get family members and friends away from the infected. that it will come to a halt in the next few months.

>> robert ray reporting. next, an indepth report - america votes - 2014. how the fight against i.s.i.l. is changing the rhetoric on the campaign trail. a lot of clean is spent this season on tommics like climate change, energy and the environment. we'll explain.

u.s. bombs fall on syria. six weeks before the midterm elections. how will it impact the vote. the balance of power. >> there's no reason for us not to do what the president asks us to do. >> with the u.s. senate up for grabs. the big issues affecting americans lives. >> congress cut it, went on vacation. the american people are suffering. >> our special report - america votes, 2014. i'm john seigenthaler in new york. tonight we are taking a closer look at how the crisis around the world will affect who is elected in the u.s. president obama committed the u.s. to the possibility of years of war in the middle east. >> it must be clear to anyone who would plot against america

and try to do americans harm, that we will not tolerate safe havens for terrorists that threaten people. >> a few weeks ago foreign policy was not a big midterm issue. fast moving event around the world change that. we begin with paul beban. >> the crisis with i.s.i.l. is the big foreign policy issue as we head no the midterms. the president and the u.s. faced a range of tough issues around the globe. close to home, violence in central america sent a flood of children across the u.s. border. turning to west africa, there has been the worst outbreak ever of the ebola virus, showing no signs of slowing. in the middle east an explosion, on again, off again violence between israel and the palestinians. there's a fragile ceasefire holding there. the most significant issue that the u.s. is grappling with is i.s.i.l., in iraq, syria, and the atrocities that have stunned

the world. of major importance is russia, actions in ukraine and syria putting it at odds with the u.s. >> reporter: russia's response to the u.s. campaign against i.s.i.l. has been relatively muted saying air strikes shouldn't have been launched without approval from the security council, and syria itself. it comes at a time when relations between the u.s. and russia are chillier than they have been since the cold war. the list of disagreements is long. support tore bashar al-assad, russia's sheltering of n.s.a. whistleblower edward snowden. the annexation of crimea, and the role in the ongoing conflict in ukraine. >> translation: we are in shock. ukrainians and russians lived together peacefully. we didn't think about nationally, now we are thinking

about how to survive. >> following the downing of flight 17, the u.s. and allies stepped up anxiouses. vladimir putin reportedly responded with a vailed threat to conquer kiev. recent days have been calmer in ukraine, and russia's seaming tacit acceptance of the u.s. assault against i.s.i.l. may be the sign of a somehow. the u.s. has begun what it says will be years of fighting to destroy i.s.i.l. >> we'll do what is necessary to take the fight to the terrorist group. >> a group whose tactics added to an enormous refugees crisis. >> we feel we have lost everything. we have been humiliated, tortured. i.s.i.l. kidnapped our women. >> military official say the first salvo was successful, scattering forces, damaging the infrastructure. president obama made sure to mention that arab nations are

joining the fight. >> the strength of the coalition makes it clear that it is not america's fight alone. >> what is not clear is how the new level in the messy and drawn out civil war will be received on the home front. how it will affect america's view of president obama's leadership, with midterm elections around the corner. >> where do the voters stand when it comes to dealing with goren policy issues? >> -- foreign policy issues. >> americans are torn. polls show 50% of americans are okay with u.s. forces on the ground in iraq. even more, nearly a third support sending in trainers to help the iraqis fight. most confirm the strikes in iraq and syria. numbers are equal, half of

americans are okay with wading into the war by air. >> another crisis. ukraine at the height of the conflict. only a quarter of men's said the u.s. should do something. most, by far, 16% of americans, should stay out. it's interesting, considering half of americans think russia is a threat to the united states. 10% thing it's harmless. >> without question americans are clear when it comes to i.s.i.l. it's a bigger concern. 70% say it poses a threat to the united states. few people, 4%, believes i.s.i.l. doesn't threaten america. >> mike viqueira is here with more. >> the answer to the question, how much of an impact all this will have on the midterm elections is cynical, and that is that it depends on how the military campaign goes.

we have seen a rally around the flag over the last couple of weeks, particularly in the bipartisan votes in the house and the senate. to authorise the president to arm the free syrian rebels of a proxy group that he wants to take the fight to within syria. if we convert to conventional wisdom, that's what we are going for, because we don't know how it will work out. a democratic president who campaigned on ending the war in iraq, initiating a new war, will suppress the turn out of democrats. the base is an antiwar base. that's the political danger for the president. >> where is it possible that the issues will pay out on the campaign trail. >> republicans will play tough on foreign policy, it's as old as the cold war itself.

we see it in georgia and new hampshire, where scott brown, formerly of massachusetts running against the incumbent democrat has a new ad at hitting him for being soft. >> radical terrorists will cause the collapse of our country. president obama and shahim seem to be confused. >> you see the president stressing bipartisan support. many detest the president, but the voted to get behind the president. >> we learnt about strikes against khorasan. another group. the u.s. government says it's a threat to america. it was seen as council elected,

it was seen as strong and an anti-terror president. you look no further than the bashar al-assad raid. you'll see a lot of president's opponents. it's a cynical world, start to raise questions and suspicions about why we hadn't heard the president talk about this group, and using phrases like it was in the execution phrase, an attack was imminent. we still have a president with approval ratings reaching lows. we have a 6-year election. sixth year of a 2-term president. every president historically lost seats except for bill clinton and it is looking like an uphill struggle. >> we'll see how the democratic base responds to all this. >> mooeka was a foreign policy and defense advisor.

she is the director of the national security project at the think tank third way. welcome. >> thank you for having me. >> let's just start with the strikes in syria. is this a game changer for the election? >> actually, i think it will change the conversation, i don't think it will change turn out or the outcome. national security issues are of low sailiens, and this year, national issues have not played. they have kept the races local. >> in some ways, this is - i mean, it's not just that american lives will be at risk, those flying over the areas, the advisors, but the cost. president obama launched a campaign that many say will last five years. how will that play in this election? >> i think it's a little soon to make the cost argument. people are focused on the

khorasan strike. what you see with the chor are is this president not talking but taking a lot of acts. he was under fire, prior to the raid about how he hadn't found osama bin laden. he didn't talk much, he planned and is it it. and the voters give the benefit of the doubt to the establishment. you see him taking swift and decisive action on that threat. >> a lot of republicans and democrats fought about the war, but democrats complain the bush administration got them involved in a quagmire in iraq. has president obama risked getting the gates involved in a quagmire in syria and iraq? >> it's definitely a preference not to. you see that with a choice of engagement, with air strikes. tomahawk missiles, not putting boots on the ground, training

iraqis, this is not about trying to get the u.s. back in iraq, but finding other ways to solve the problem. the other way with getting involved and sending boots into iraq, is that you own it. had it not been for the invasion in 2003, we wouldn't have created the chaos on the ground in iraq allowing i.s.i.s. and the kora zone group to plot and grow in strength. is this election going to be about fear in some ways? >> i think it's more about fear, but economic fear. these national security incidents, while they grip us now and in the moment, they tend to fade quickly from the consciousness of voters. we have done field research on this, and it's hard for them to remember things that happened. >> how does it play for the democrats considering that president obama has been in

charge for 1.5 turns. for democrats it's a weakness, viewed as soft on security. people are concerned they spend too much time deliberating. president obama runs against type on that. specifically on counterterrorism. there's a lot of questions that arise about his response on russia and syria. he moves quickly, and people see that in the tribal areas. yemen, afghanistan. >> the economy is the biggest issue, and that is the driver. how are people feeling about local issues, education, economy, entitlement spending. >> how are they feeling about this? >> they are nervous about it, nervous about the future. >> and who gets the blame for that? >> well, certainly the president's approval ratings indicate that he is getting the blame for that. what you see in the congressional races is people are working hard to distinguish

themselves from the president. they have been surprisingly successful. >> six weeks out an air strike on syria and in iraq and khorasan in syria, just six weeks to debate the issues, is it likely to be the top issue or not? >> i think that it will be a top issue for a week and a half. but not the top issue when it comes to election day. >> thank you very much. >> thanks for having me. >> next on america votes - other issues on the campaign trail including why viewers are seeing so many political ads about energy and the environment. campaign attacks. a closely watched race gets ugly. one accusing the other of funding dangerous groups.

america votes 2014. hundreds of thousands of potential voters have taken to the streets to call attention to climate change. global warm, the environment and green energy are topics of the mid term elections. political adds about energy and the environment are expected to reach unprecedented levels. we'll follow the money and track the spending. tonight we are in washington state where environmental issues are big. that has outsiders spending money on the campaigns. allen schauffler reports. >> if i was doorbelling in that, they'd see me, wouldn't they. how are you doing. >> reporter: when jan jumped in for federal election, she noticed deep pockets. we wondered where the money was coming from to higher all the

people, do the canvassing. fires. tv gal or. >> television adds like this one. >> representative of jan angel to reduce access to mammograms and cancer screenings. >> reporter: many funding by she changed, coming from billionaire californian activist tom steyr and next gen climate. >> tom steiner and next gen put in money against you? >> yes, he did. >> reporter: climate change is his passion, shared with jay ensly, who held a serious of issues. he met with steyr to discuss climate change and local political races. in the washington senate republicans hold a one-seat voting edge with two democrats who jumped the aisle.

>> the special collection in angel's district could have tipped the balance. a state election record contributed more than half a million. huge for such a race. >> do you welcome the help? >> you bet. i welcome any views of an opt mist and an lent visit. >> it's happening at the sit level and in local elections. >> at the nonpartisan institute of money and state politics says the amount of money has jumped since the 2010 citizens united supreme court ruling loosening restrictions on independent spending. >> we are trying to effect policy change. the races are less expensive in germ than a federal race. >> jan angel won the election, telling us she spent more than three-quarters of a million doing it, most raised outside the distribute.

looking ahead the governor has no concerns about getting hep from steyr and next gep. >> it will not be an unfair debate. they need to get the message out. >> well funded, competing messages for voters across it state and around the country. >> when we talked that day, the governor made it clear that shrinking the carbon footprint is at the top of the priority list, and next gen money. tom steyr money has begun to oorfe in washington. state election show $1,100,000 shifted yesterday. where the money goes, who is targeted. we don't know. it's likely it will flow into a couple of tight state senate races. >> the environment is an important issue not only in the north-west. alaska as well. you'll be headed there soon. what are you working on there?

>> a lot to work on in that election. the environment is one little bit. there's a ballot measure na alaskas will consider involving the mine for the bristol bay area. two other measures, and a minimum wage also. not very friendly governor's race, and a race for the u.s. senate seat that could have a big impact on democratic control in washington. we are going up to alaska, the last front ear and checking out all the issues, and will have a week-long special on what is happening in what could be an important swing state. >> can climate change and other environmental issues make a difference in the midterm elections. david shuster is here with that part of the story. talk about the campaign money spent by the environmental groups. >> the group that tom is promoting, they'll spent $25 million, and there are other groups that will ratchet up.

there'll be a big amount of spending, in any campaign in u.s. history. it's twice as much as 2012, other issues are twice as much. whether it's education and social security. the spending is way across the board. the question is is this a whenning issue. and you do have environmental groups trying to convince voters to hold republicans accountable. for the most part the candidates themselves are not jumping into environmental issues. democrats for the most part say we don't want to support climate change because we'll be hit on economic issues. rub as cans don't want to deny, it's awash in a lot of races and essentially you have agreement on environmental issues. for example, you look at the keystone xl pipeline. a number of democrats, mary landrieu and others, they

support the pipeline, they don't want to be hit on the anti-economy message. there's not that wedge issue on the environmental stories that drive voters to make a decision. >> how enthu yastic are environmentalists to get out and campaign for democrats. we saw in new york hundreds of thousands march in the street. are they voters this time. >> mostly happens, pictures are amazing. the fact of the matter is that environmentalists are disappointed with president obama and the democratic party, because the president, for example, said he would curve carbon emissions and a lot said it was a war on coal. environmentalists said it didn't go far enough. there was more the president should have done. when it comes to solar and other energy, they say it hasn't gone far enough. the environmentalists fear the democratic party is not taking a

courageous stand and the environmentals are energized with each other, but not with going out for the democratic party. that's a natural fit. >> where does the issue rank when it comes to the economy or air strikes in syria and the war on terrorism? >> for the groups spending money, more than this ever to talk up the environment. it's a huge issue. in the minds of the voters, it's far down on the list in terms of priorities and what they see in terms of the ads. >> coming up next - when campaigns get ugly, we'll look at a senate race where accusations are flying over homeland security and the treatment of women.

in the run-up to election day we'll cover the candidates and fact check them. together the race for georgia's oakland seat, a race where a candidate is accusing the other of supporting terrorists. morgan radford reports. >> reporter: the fict for the u.s. isn't -- fight for the u.s. senate seat in georgia is close. >> they have got to beat michelle nunn. >> david prideaux is leading by

5 points against democratic nonprofit michelle nunn. >> it will be bigger, badder and uglier. >> this is the ugly and nasty we are talking about. >> michelle nunn's own plans has her funding organizations linked to prophets, she's for amnesty, terror expert say the border break down could provide entry forries christopher gibson. >> prideaux's ad campaign mentioned a memo leaked to the press from nunn. the prideaux campaign would do what it has, accusing nunn of having ties to terrorists. his camp says points of light, a charity that nunn ran gave money to the u.s. affiliate of islamic relief. an aid organization that israel lames has ties -- claims has ties to hamas.

is it true? >> they are looking for adds they can get, even if walking through the line, crossing the line of what is true and not. >> according to fact checking red sites including politicfact.com and another, it is false. it is a legally separate entity from the worldwide umbrella organization and a federally approved charity. the website describes it has independent humanitarian organization, dedicated to fighting poverty and injustice, with no ties to hamas, a suggestion that the group denies. >> points of lie was a volunteer group, allowing people that sold i suppose on a website. one of the option was islamic reloof u.s.a. points of life was the middle man. it was ebay users donating

$42,000 to islamic relief. >> i.s.i.l., i.s.i.s., islamic state - people hear the names, it doesn't make too many comfortable. as a result it makes for a good political fodder. that may be cynical. but this is a cynical time in politics and for many of the candidates running in tight races. >> i have spoken... >> to make it more interesting. the chairman of points of light is neil bush. son of former republican president george h.w. bush, who endorsed prideaux last week. >> reporter: nunn is not standing down without a fight and is running attack ads, questioning prideaux adds company treatment of female employees and outsourcing of american jobs. the accuracy is yet to be changed. >> this is six weeks to go and they are going at each other. let's talk about george h.w.

bush. he was backing prideaux, critical of the points of life foundation and his son neil is not happy. >> not having it. he said i'll give you a pass, it's okay. neil said it makes by blood boil to think someone would make shameful allegations against my father. >> that's the report. america votes 2014. next week's focus is jobs. thanks for joining us. i'm john seigenthaler.

ise, no clutter, just real reporting. the new al jazeera america mobile app, available for your apple and android mobile device. download it now on "america tonight" - going [ gunfire ] launching a full-on assault on terror targets inside syria - the president crosses a new line and hails the partners that steps up to join in. >> america is proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with these security.